Currently only 27 cultural and natural sites in India have been designated Unesco world heritage sites. Applications for an additional 19 locations to be so declared are pending. In the first of a three-article series, Srinidhi Raghavendra overviews world heritage sites of north India. A nations cultural and natural heritage embodied in buildings, monuments and natural wonders is proof of a nation or civilizations history. Moreover unique buildings and monumented wealth of countries trace the progress of humankind irrespective of where they are located. Therefore with jet travel having made the worlds greatest civilizational and natural wonders accessible to a progressively larger number of students, scholars and lay people around the world, theres growing awareness of the need to preserve and maintain heritage sites and monuments. In 1965, the United States of America called for creation of a World Heritage Trust which would promote international cooperation to protect the worlds superb natural and scenic areas and historic sites for the present and the future of the entire world citizenry. The idea was accepted by nature preservation organisations and in 1968 the International Union for Conservation of Nature drafted similar proposals which were presented at the United Nations Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972. The UN General Assembly referred the idea to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) and that very year Unesco drafted an international treaty under the name and style of Convention Concerning Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The prime objective of the treaty is to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage sites around the world believed to be of outstanding value to humanity. Since then Unesco has been inspecting and identifying cultural and natural heritage sites worldwide and designating them Unesco World Heritage Sites (WHS). These sites can be a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city. A list of such sites has been created, and is regularly updated by the International World Heritage Programme administered by the Unesco World Heritage Comm-ittee comprising representatives of 21 member countries of the Unesco Convention. India was a member of the Unesco World Heritage Committee from 2001-07. The committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention and allocation of grants from a World Heritage Fund for restoration, protection and preservation of world heritage sites. During its term in office, the committee makes final decisions on the inscription or deletion of properties on the World Heritage list. Currently there are 851 sites (660 cultural, 166 natural, and 25 mixed properties) spread across 141 countries worldwide on the World Heritage list, with Italy leading the scroll (41). One of the most important benefits of getting listed is access to annual financial grants from the World Heritage Fund, which has a budget of $4 million (Rs.16 crore) per year. Another intangible benefit of inclusion is development of global awareness of the chosen site and its outstanding values. India’s World Heritage Sites Widely acknowledged as one of…
